A Twitter war has erupted between former Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni and Zimbabwe’s information minister Professor Jonathan Moyo.
The two senior politicians argued about a number of issues that included dictatorship‚ education‚ shopping and fronting.
The whole Twitter saga started when Mboweni posted a tweet about old dictators in Africa.
“I hate dictators. They complicate our lives! We need democracy in Africa. Get these old people out of office. Time for the under 50s now!!”
This saw Moyo joining the conversation in apparent defence of 91-year-old president Robert Mugabe.
Moyo said: “No leadership theory tells us that men over 50 cannot lead”.
To this‚ he added‚ “It is obvious that 25-year-old North Korean ruler disproves rant by @tito–mboweni that young people =democracy & old people =dictatorship!”
Mboweni’s statement seeming angered Moyo into also posting this 6-point response – in which he used the derogatory epithet for a sell-out to describe Mboweni:
“1. Losing sleep over the @tito–mboweni exuberant rant linking dictatorship with old age was not an option. But he won’t go unchallenged!
“2. History has many examples of young & old dictators to expose link of dictatorship with old age by @tito–mboweni as a rant of a charlatan!
“3. The exuberant rant by @tito–mboweni linking dictatorship with old age is ahistorical‚ ideologically bankrupt & intellectually dishonest!
“4. Democracy yes‚ Youth Power yes but no to the exuberant rant by @tito–mboweni drawing an infantile link between dictatorship & old age!
“5. Linking dictatorship with old age is the latest example of the open mouth & shut mind politics of Uncle Toms in Africa today!
“6. The exuberant rant by @tito–mboweni linking dictatorship with old age boggles the mind how such an irrational mind was a Bank Governor!”
Undaunted‚ Mboweni also took on Moyo for attacking South Africa.
Moyo had decried the SA High Court order against Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir‚ who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes. “No court shoud demean itself as has done SA High Court by issuing a brutum fulmen judgment under the pretext of fulfilling the rule of law! (sic)‚” Moyo wrote.
Mboweni took up the cudgels‚ stating: “Jonathan Moyo irritates me. Writes fairy tales‚ shops in SA for basic things and talks such rubbish whilst his people suffer. Prof my foot!”
Referring to former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono and the two countries’ then finance ministers Trevor Manuel and Herbert Murerwa‚ he tweeted: “A couple of years ago‚ I was instructed to work on an economic revival program for Zim together with Gono‚ Trevor and Herbert Murerwa. It came to nothing because of people like the supposed Prof. Meanwhile back at the ranch‚ Zimbabweans are suffering. That’s the reality”.
“And leaders in Botswana‚ South Africa and Zambia are blind to this. Educated Zimbabweans are waiters and waitresses down to Cape Town. Hey?!”
The twitter rant was joined by a number of individuals in both sides of the Limpopo river.
Dumisani Sibanda @iamdumisibanda wrote “@tito–mboweni suddenly has become an authority on #Zimbabwe..mxxm seeking relevance” while @anti–ANC added his voice saying‚ “Dictators at any age are BAD but senile dictators like Mad Bob are positively dangerous”.
This is not the first time the pair have gone at each other publicly.
Mboweni drew Moyo’s ire when he was still SA’s central bank governor in 2001 for his comments that “the wheels have come off” in Zimbabwe and that this was hurting the rand. Mboweni also spoke out against Zimbabwe’s land grabs. At that time‚ Business Day quoted Moyo as saying: “For the verifiable record‚ there are no illegal land invasions in Zimbabwe and there is no beating up of people…”.
Mboweni in twar with Zimbabwe's spindoctor
A Twitter war has erupted between former Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni and Zimbabwe’s information minister Professor Jonathan Moyo.
The two senior politicians argued about a number of issues that included dictatorship‚ education‚ shopping and fronting.
The whole Twitter saga started when Mboweni posted a tweet about old dictators in Africa.
“I hate dictators. They complicate our lives! We need democracy in Africa. Get these old people out of office. Time for the under 50s now!!”
This saw Moyo joining the conversation in apparent defence of 91-year-old president Robert Mugabe.
Moyo said: “No leadership theory tells us that men over 50 cannot lead”.
To this‚ he added‚ “It is obvious that 25-year-old North Korean ruler disproves rant by @tito–mboweni that young people =democracy & old people =dictatorship!”
Mboweni’s statement seeming angered Moyo into also posting this 6-point response – in which he used the derogatory epithet for a sell-out to describe Mboweni:
“1. Losing sleep over the @tito–mboweni exuberant rant linking dictatorship with old age was not an option. But he won’t go unchallenged!
“2. History has many examples of young & old dictators to expose link of dictatorship with old age by @tito–mboweni as a rant of a charlatan!
“3. The exuberant rant by @tito–mboweni linking dictatorship with old age is ahistorical‚ ideologically bankrupt & intellectually dishonest!
“4. Democracy yes‚ Youth Power yes but no to the exuberant rant by @tito–mboweni drawing an infantile link between dictatorship & old age!
“5. Linking dictatorship with old age is the latest example of the open mouth & shut mind politics of Uncle Toms in Africa today!
“6. The exuberant rant by @tito–mboweni linking dictatorship with old age boggles the mind how such an irrational mind was a Bank Governor!”
Undaunted‚ Mboweni also took on Moyo for attacking South Africa.
Moyo had decried the SA High Court order against Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir‚ who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes. “No court shoud demean itself as has done SA High Court by issuing a brutum fulmen judgment under the pretext of fulfilling the rule of law! (sic)‚” Moyo wrote.
Mboweni took up the cudgels‚ stating: “Jonathan Moyo irritates me. Writes fairy tales‚ shops in SA for basic things and talks such rubbish whilst his people suffer. Prof my foot!”
Referring to former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor Gideon Gono and the two countries’ then finance ministers Trevor Manuel and Herbert Murerwa‚ he tweeted: “A couple of years ago‚ I was instructed to work on an economic revival program for Zim together with Gono‚ Trevor and Herbert Murerwa. It came to nothing because of people like the supposed Prof. Meanwhile back at the ranch‚ Zimbabweans are suffering. That’s the reality”.
“And leaders in Botswana‚ South Africa and Zambia are blind to this. Educated Zimbabweans are waiters and waitresses down to Cape Town. Hey?!”
The twitter rant was joined by a number of individuals in both sides of the Limpopo river.
Dumisani Sibanda @iamdumisibanda wrote “@tito–mboweni suddenly has become an authority on #Zimbabwe..mxxm seeking relevance” while @anti–ANC added his voice saying‚ “Dictators at any age are BAD but senile dictators like Mad Bob are positively dangerous”.
This is not the first time the pair have gone at each other publicly.
Mboweni drew Moyo’s ire when he was still SA’s central bank governor in 2001 for his comments that “the wheels have come off” in Zimbabwe and that this was hurting the rand. Mboweni also spoke out against Zimbabwe’s land grabs. At that time‚ Business Day quoted Moyo as saying: “For the verifiable record‚ there are no illegal land invasions in Zimbabwe and there is no beating up of people…”.
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